Akshaya Patra Foundation wins Tech Museum Award 2009 in category of Education

Bengaluru - November 24, 2009: The Akshaya Patra Foundation, the world's largest NGO run school meal programme bags the Tech Awards 2009, a signature program of The Tech Museum, San Jose, California, USA. Akshaya Patra won the Microsoft Education Awards, in the category of education under The Tech Museum Awards 2009. The Award was presented with a cash prize of $ 50,000 at a glittering ceremony in San Jose, USA, for social entrepreneurs leveraging technology to benefit humanity. The Tech Awards, a signature program of The Tech Museum and presented by Applied Materials, Inc., selected Akshaya Patra from among 650 nominations representing 66 countries.

Established in 2000, The Tech Awards recognizes 15 Laureates in five universal categories: education, equality, environment, economic development and health. These Laureates have developed new technological solutions or innovative ways to use existing technologies to significantly improve the lives of people around the world. One laureate in each category receives a $50,000 cash prize. The winners were announced at a ceremony at which Al Gore, former U.S. vice president and Nobel Peace Prize winner received a humanitarian award.

Akshaya Patra has won accolades from all corners for its yeomen work for the mid-day meal program in India and their astounding performance in feeding over one million school children every day. Recently former US president Bill Clinton commended Akshaya Patra during his key note address at the PAN IIT conference in Chicago.

Akshaya Patra, was selected for being a pioneering program in India's social and developmental sector, using technology extensively to provide freshly prepared, wholesome meals to over one million school children daily in over 6,500 government schools in seven states of India This meal is an incentive for children to come to school, stay in school and provides them with the necessary nutrients they need to develop their cognitive abilities to focus on learning. The program is a strategic intervention aimed at unlocking the vicious cycle of poverty and hunger.

Shri. Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, said, "This award is actually a recognition of thousands of supporters from the corporate world, individual donors, professional governance provided by my co-trustees, board of advisors, support of the state and central government and thousands of Akshaya Patra staff, to bring a smile on the faces of the underprivileged children of our country and to empower them with education."

He further added "We have been following the best practices of the corporate world in terms of transparency and governance which we believe is essential to conduct the program on such a grand scale. We also thank God for making us instruments in this great service and pray that we will be able to extend this service to lakhs of more children to support them with good education."

Source : Equity Bulls

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